Artificial foot



(No Modell) J. F. ROWLEY. ARTIFICIAL FOOT.

No. 456,206. Patented July 21, 1891.

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UNITED STATES PATENT IGrrr/cne JAMES F. ROwLEY, OF DES Moines, IOWA.

ARTIFICIAL FOOT;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 456,206, dated July 21, 1891. Application filed April 8, 1890. Serial No. 347,116. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concerm.

Be it known that I, JAMES F. ROWLEY, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented an lmproved Artificial Foot, of which t-he following 1s a specification.

My object is, first, to produce an artificial foot of Wood and rubber in such a manner that it will have the firmness required to sustain any weight or strain to which it may be subJ ected by the wearer, and at the same time possess all the flexibility and elasticity essent1al to produce natural lnovements without allowing any undue lateral or unnatural flexurei second, to simplify the construction, reduce the cost, and increase the efficiency and durability of an artificial foot andleg.

Myiinvention consists in the construction and combination of two pieces of lsolid wood, a metal coupling device, and an elastic covering, as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a Vertical longitudinal section4 showing the forms and relative positions of the two pieces of WoodA combined and concealed by the elastic cover. Fig. 2 is avertical sectional view of the heel through the line c :t of Fig. l, showing the form and position of the metal coupling device. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the line .e z in Fig. l, showing the relative positions of the two pieces of wood at the instep and the manner of producing flexibility from the heel to the toe without allowing lateral fiexion.

A is a piece of wood or other suitable solid material, that represents the tarsus or ankle of the foot connected with the leg A2.

Bis a piece of wood or other suitable solid material that extends from the heel to the toe and has an articulate connection with the piece A that allows all the fiexure required and all the natural motions of a foot incident to walking. At the point where the rear ends or heel portions (two pieces of wood) come in contact the one has a concave surface and the other a convex surface, as clearly shown in Fig. l. The front portion of the piece A has a concave on its under side and the central portion and top surface of the piece B has a corresponding concave, so that an enlarged elliptic-shaped spring or cushion is admitted between them to produce a strong and elastic instep that will accommodate itself to all the varying degrees of pressure to which the foot is subject and that extends from heel to toe.

` C is a piece of wire or metal coupling bent double to encircle the rear end of the wooden piece YB and its ends then passed up'through perforations in the piece A and twisted together, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and as required to produce a flexible, strong, and durable connection between them. A cavityin the top surface of the piece A allows the ends of the'wire to be embedded and concealed in the wood.

D represents a rubber or other elastic fillingand covering formed between and around the two pieces of wood by means of a mold in a common Way and as required to produce an imitation of the human foot. The toe portion that extends in front of the wood has more elasticity than any other part of the foot, and inV combination with the two pieces of Wood and the cushion or spring between them makes the motions of the toes and complete foot easy and natural and protects the wearer from jars'and concussions incident to the use of an artificial foot that has not sufficient fiexure between the toe and instep.

I claim as my inventionl. Asolid piece having a concave in its top and central portion and a convex surface at its top and rear end, a solid Vpiece having a concave in its bottom and front end and a concave in its bottom and rear end, a metal coupling device connecting the rear end portions of the two overlapping solid pieces, and an elastic filling between their overlapping front portions, arranged and combined in an artificial foot to operate in the manner set forth, for the purposes stated.

2. An improved artificial foot consisting of a solid piece B, extending from the heel to the toe, an overlapping solid piece A in contact with the top of the heel end only ot` the part B and extending horizontally forward to foot, enveloping und concealing the Said n eiufthe toe portion, a, U-slmped metal coup- Woodeu parte, substantially as shown and deling surrounding the heel end of the part B scribed.

amd extending np through the heel end of the JAMES F. ROWLEY. 5 part A, an elastic filling extending through \Vtnesses:

the elongated space between the parts A and MARTIN l?. SMITH,

B, and an elastic covering, in the form of :L THOMAS G. ORWIG. 

